After the dismal performance thus far from 989 Sports we were hoping NHL FaceOff 2001 would break the mould and return gamers to the label that redefined sports on the original Playstation. Unfortunately the things that plagued Gameday 2001 and both NCAA titles have once again plagued this year's iteration of FaceOff. Oh my how the mighty have fallen. In short FaceOff does some have playability value to it but in most cases this game seems unfinished and sorely lacking in the overall presentation of the final product. To review this game I decided to organize a little hockey tournament last weekend among crazed Canadian hockey enthusiasts. We played through both FaceOff and EA's NHL 2001. Hands down NHL 2001 garnered the most support and final approval of the players.

First let's get the awful visuals out of the way. The graphics are very sub-par for even the Playstation One never mind Playstation 2. The players are supposed to boast 2,500 polygons which is believed to be ten times as many as the Playstation version. If this is the case then I wonder what EA Sports used for their models as the players in FaceOff look blocky, unnatural-natural and in no way resemble any of their real-life counterparts. The animations are a mixed bag. We found the shooting animations to be quite impressive,while the skating and checking animations were sorely lacking. This became more evident when instant replays were shown as players missed checks completely while opponents went flying for no reason. Perhaps one of the biggest jokes ever seen in a hockey game is the fighting engine. The guys playing literally almost wet themselves with laughter each time a fight broke out. The fight best resembled two monkeys clawing at each other. Then come the arenas. Most of the real stadiums are present but quite a few are not due to license agreements. Not a big deal if the arena is done in detail. Unfortunately they are not. The crowds do not move but are stationary sprite-like figures. The only thing moving are the scoreboards which resemble something from hockey games a decade ago.

On the sound front things are not much better. There is some crowd ambience and the sound effects have been done fairly well. The play by play leaves a lot to be desired. In a lot of cases the announcers are behind the play and the color commentary offers little more than a couple of stats about a player or team. When you have play by play present in Sega's franchise sports titles that is top notch, it would make sense that other development teams would use that as a bench mark. The days of getting well known voice talent is out the window as professional voice actors now do a more thorough job. The arena music on the other hand is quite good as 989 has gone the extra distance to get some of the more popular rink tunes. Too bad this attention to detail was not spent in other areas of the game.

The only thing saving FaceOff from total degradation is how well it can actually play at times. We found the control of the players and the overall speed of the game is much more smoother than EA's NHL 2001. To test how well a hockey game plays I always look to the power play in the game. If you can smoothly throw the puck around while the defense makes their box then you know something is good. In a lot of games including NHL 2001 it is almost impossible to get a clean shot on the powerplay. In FaceOff you can not only do it but you can move around and set up a nice tip play or generate a rebound for one of your pressing forwards at the net. Icon passing is available for those who prefer a more direct passing game. The downside in the control department is the lack of moves available both on offence and defence. There are no poke-checks, hooks, aggressive checks, dekes, or spin around moves. Having these absent is inexcusable as they are features that are now standard especially in next generation titles.

In the extras department there is little in the way of 'extras' as the modes present are standard and expected for hockey games. You will find season, practice, exhibition, playoffs, tournament and shootout play options. All of the NHL teams are present along with a host of international teams. A very thorough draft mode is present and should satisfy those looking to draft their dream team. Something us Canadians find amusing and just loathe is the "puck halo". It is present for those new to ice hockey. A nice touch is the ability to play as or against thirteen NHL legends including Gordie Howe, Bobby Hul, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne, Dennis Potvin, Guyy LeFluer, Stan Makita, Doug Harvey, Mike Bossy, Red Kelly, Jacques Plante, Pierre Pilote and Bryan Trottier. Disappointingly absent, Rocket Richard, Wayne Gretzkey and Boby Orr. You can also change offensive and defensive strategies on the fly to spice things up and hopefully catch the opposition of guard.

In the end, NHL FaceOff 2001 is just a mediocre title that will satisfy only those who may have been unimpressed with EA's offering this year. It is a shame really because I really like the playability of the game but the numerous shortcomings are just too intense to overlook. As a result the overall value of the game is greatly diminished.